Goodyear develops ‘Spring Tyres’ for space missions

Goodyear took a giant leap in terms of technology with its new tyres to be rolling the future space exploration droids. Previously seen special tyres were on the lunar rover project, which featured piano wire and titanium cleats. The tyres cannot be pumped with air, as there is no atmosphere on moon and the pressure difference may cause the tyres to burst. Moreover, this new Goodyear tyre features spring built into a wheel to provide enormous strength and shock absorption ability. The featured design is very robust, with the tyres functioning effectively even with a few snapped springs. The Spring Tire shall replace old tyres used on NASA’s Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle, which first rolled on missions to the moon.

Goodyear Spring Tires combines a total of 800 load-bearing springs, mounted to a six-spoke metal hub featuring several advantages. It can tackle through alien terrains without transferring any impact on the loaded body. “This tire is extremely durable and very energy efficient,” said Joe Lettieri, Goodyear’s lead researcher on the Spring Tire project. He further added, “The spring design contours to any surface providing maximum traction. All of the energy used to deform the tire is returned when the springs rebound, so it will not generate heat like a pneumatic tire.”

Moreover, the Spring Tyres do not contain any air or rubber, keeping them isolated from any form of solar radiation or degradation. Goodyear and NASA’s next-generation tyres will be tested and tweaked initially on the harshest terrain on Earth, before featuring on foreign satellites and lunar mission droids. There is no word on 20-inch rims for sporty models yet.